A few months ago, the media reported a story that was picked up by thousands of papers and news stations declaring that a new study had found organic food was not healthier than conventional.

For the masses who readily accept the sweeping declarations of the media and corporate funded research, this was welcome news. They had no need to spend extra money on organic fruits and vegetables or organic milk, eggs or meat. As the study had reported, the nutritional values were the same.

Two years prior to this study, my husband and I spent extra money, gas and time to change to a completely organic diet. We went from regular dairy to organic dairy, processed lunch meat to organic lunch meat, hormone and antibiotic-filled meat to grass fed, natural or organic meat, processed sugar to evaporated cane juice or local honey, etc.

If the findings of this study were accurate, we should not have seen a change in our health. We should not have lost weight. We should not have seen a change in our hormones. Oh... but... we abso-freakin'-lutely did. And the world of so-called scientific research scoffs at my anecdotal evidence... but here it is anyway.

I lost INCHES. My pants were literally falling off of me. My hormones changed so drastically that I experienced a drastic and severe hormonal fluctuation very much like that of coming off of birth control pills or hormone therapy. My cycle totally changed. And once my body got used to eating organic food (which, by the findings of one study, should have had no effect whatsoever), I felt better than I had felt in my entire life. I felt clean.My body didn't ache. I had no brain fog. And the same goes for my husband. But that's just anecdotal evidence.

What disturbs me most about this study is the glaring lack of concern for what the food does NOT contain. Naturally, an apple that has been sprayed with pesticides and shined up with chemical wax to make it more appealing and to have a longer shelf life will have the SAME nutritional value as an apple that has been grown organically. I'm not entirely sure what genius would have thought otherwise.

Let's put it this way: I have two glasses of water. They are both H2O. They both have the same chemical structure. They are both clear. Here's the difference: one glass of water is simply pure, filtered H2O... nothing else. The other glass is, of course, also H2O but to "preserve" the clarity and appeal, I've added a drop of arsenic (bear with me). I know you see where I'm going. Because the poison was added to the water to maintain its clarity and shelf life, it's possible to charge less. There's less monetary loss when the shelf life is extended. This is all really besides my initial point, however.

The point is this: why are we not more concerned about what's being ADDED to conventional products? Of course an apple is an apple (unless it's GMO... totally different story). I could take two apples and cover one with human excrement. They're both still apples -- one just has something added to it. And which would you prefer eat?

I've really ranted more than I intended to. My initial intention was to more or less explain why I eat organic (or at least eating without preservatives, hormones, antibiotics and GMO) and why eating this way is actually what will make or break your health.

In the next post, I'll list my reasons for eating organic foods (or simply foods that are free of preservatives, chemicals, hormones, antibiotics and GMO products) as well as explain why organic living will change your health.

There are a few items I've learned to keep in stock in my kitchen for both food preparation and natural remedies. These things are essential to anyone who wants to begin a naturally healthy lifestyle, lose weight, or just have natural remedies and natural beauty products at your fingertips. The products listed below are all items I use on a regular basis and have personally experienced their benefits.

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Who is SHE?

I'm just a girl who loves the abstract, the colorful, the mysterious and the impossible.My favorite thing in this life is having a fella with whom I can be unashamedly gross and silly and in the next moment discuss the philosophy and physics of the universe. I also love pumpkins, the color orange, trees, autumn leaves, the writings of Soren Kierkegaard, creative endeavors of all kinds, and the beauty, wonder & healing power of nature.